Danny Rapp

Daniel Joseph "Danny" Rapp (May 9, 1941 – April 5, 1983) was an American musician and the frontman for the group Danny & the Juniors. The group is best known for their 1957 hit "At the Hop".

He was born in Philadelphia, Pa , the youngest of seven siblings. Although his birth certificate states his date of birth was May 10, he was in fact born at home on May 9 and registered the following day.

Rapp's musical career began in 1955 with the formation of his group The Juvenairs, which later became known as Danny and the Juniors. Their 1957 song "Do the Bop" came to the attention of Dick Clark, who suggested they rename it to "At the Hop." After limited initial success with the song, it became a worldwide hit when it was played on American Bandstand. The Juniors went on to have two more hits "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" and "Twistin' USA". The Juniors released several more records in the 1960s but were not able to produce any more hits. In the 1970s, they capitalized on a strong '50s nostalgia movement by touring and rerecording "At The Hop" in 1976.

He was found dead in an Arizona hotel room on April 5, 1983 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound a few weeks short of his 42nd birthday.^[1] and was survived by his wife and two children.

Tributes

The first track on the self-titled debut album from The Constantines called "Arizona," is based on Rapp's suicide. The song begins with the lyric "This is a song about the death of Danny Rapp. And that great gospel jest called rock 'n' roll."

Daniel Johnston's song "Danny Don't Rapp" from the album Yip/Jump Music was recorded shortly after Rapp's death in 1983.

References

1. ^ "Singer's Body Identified". The New York Times. April 7, 1983. http://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/07/us/singer-s-body-identified.html. Retrieved 6 May 2009. 

External links

• Danny & The Juniors I
• Danny & The Juniors II
• Danny & the Juniors III
• Bio
• Danny Rapp at the IMDb
• Danny's Gravesite

Persondata
Name	Rapp, Danny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 9, 1941
Place of birth
Date of death	April 5, 1983
Place of death